Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 168

“A trip?”

He nodded. “She said she wanted to travel around the continent once the war was over. It’ll probably take her about a month to return.”

“That long…”

Brianna let out a small sigh.

She had planned to consult with the Dowager Duchess once they arrived at the ducal residence. She had thought that if she revealed she was having difficulty conceiving, the duchess might take the initiative to help her with the divorce. Despite her affection for Brianna, the duchess had a duty to protect the ducal family.

“Is that bag all your luggage? You stayed there for six months, after all.”

At that moment, Lucius looked at the bag placed beside Brianna and asked. It was a question he hadn’t asked when they were leaving the village, so its sudden appearance now felt a bit odd, but Brianna nodded anyway.

“Yes.”

“If you left anything behind, tell me. I’ll send someone to get it.”

“It’s fine. I packed all the important things in this bag.”

At that, Lucius let out a light cough and turned his head, covering his mouth with his fingers.

“Then, instead of sending someone there…”

Although she had told Natalie to use the money and jewelry left at the house, she wasn’t sure if they would really use them. Most likely, they would hesitate to touch anything, so she wanted to mention it once more.

“I’d like to send a letter to Levin.”

Even as she said it, Brianna wondered whether she really needed his permission to send a letter to an acquaintance. Still, considering Lucius’s recent behavior, it seemed safer to mention it in advance.

But no sooner had she spoken than he abruptly turned his head back and asked in a voice full of displeasure, “Levin? That man from the house next door? Why send a letter to that man and not the woman?”

His previously cheerful mood vanished, and he reverted to the overly sensitive man once again.

The reason she chose to write to Levin instead of Natalie was simple. Natalie couldn’t read. Even if she sent her a letter, she wouldn’t be able to read it.

“That’s because…”

Just as she opened her mouth to explain, Brianna realized it. He was still suspicious about her relationship with Levin.

“Are you seriously doubting me and Levin again? I already told you we’re nothing. Why are you like this?”

“I asked why you’re sending a letter to that man, Brianna.”

At his growling voice, Brianna shouted sharply, “Because Natalie can’t read! She doesn’t know how to read letters!”

Only then did Lucius fall silent, as if realizing his mistake. Brianna, still fuming, began to lash out at him.

“Do you have any idea how much Levin loves Natalie? Why do you keep saying things like that? Besides, Levin helped me with everything while I was there. From replacing old floorboards to fixing broken doors. He even chased away every man who tried to come near my house!”

“Men tried to come near your house?”

“It’s a long-standing tradition anywhere to treat a widow without a husband like an ownerless object.”

“Then why did you make your perfectly alive husband out to be dead?”

“You might not know this, but divorced women are treated worse than widows. If I had said I was divorced, it wouldn’t have ended with just loitering.”

At that, Lucius clenched his teeth tightly. “But you weren’t even divorced.”

“I didn’t know you hadn’t filed the divorce papers yet.”

“Who were they?”

“What?”

“The men loitering around your house.”

Brianna let out a breathless laugh. Was he planning to track them down and beat them up?

“Anyway, stop trying to link me and Levin. He even introduced me to Mr. Ethan, suggesting I remarry…”

Brianna stopped mid-sentence. In her flustered state, she had said something she shouldn’t have.

“Ethan? Who the hell is that? And remarriage?”

As the relentless questioning continued, Brianna deliberately looked away. She clamped her mouth shut and began counting the pleats on her skirt one by one, when suddenly her body was lifted.

“Luce!”

He grabbed Brianna and pulled her onto his lap, spreading her legs on either side and straddling her across his knees. Then, without hesitation, he started untying the ribbon at her chest.

“Are you insane?”

Brianna slapped the back of his hand and grabbed the half-untied ribbon. If they lost control again and ended up doing something indecent here, she couldn’t consider them rational humans anymore.

As Brianna covered her chest with both hands in a tight defense, Lucius gave a small smile, then gently stroked the ankle resting on the chair, knees bent. His long fingers pressed into the delicate hollow of her ankle, then slowly rubbed the protruding ankle bone. The secretive and ticklish sensation made Brianna wince slightly and bite her lip.

If he had just pinned her down like before, she might have pushed him away. But the way he was touching her now was far more maddening. Eventually, when the hand caressing her ankle began to slowly move up her leg, Brianna let out a sigh of resignation.

“I’ll answer whatever you ask, so please stop.”

Still gripping her thigh with one hand, he asked, “Who is this Ethan guy?”

“A prospective lawyer. He said he was studying law.”

“Who asked about his job?”

Lucius lifted the wide hem of her skirt and grabbed her fully revealed buttocks. Brianna swiftly lowered the hand that had been guarding her chest to block his fingers trying to slip under her undergarments.

As if he’d been waiting for this, Lucius buried his nose deep between the loose collar revealing her cleavage. He inhaled her scent, then stuck out his tongue to lick her upper chest.

“What did that guy do with you?”

Brianna barely held back from giving in to the temptation, biting her lip.

“Nothing happened with him. I was introduced to him suddenly during the festival, and we only spent a brief time together.”

“Festival?”

“The victory celebration.”

He paused, lifting his head from where he had been nibbling her chest. The fingers that had been playing beneath her skirt also withdrew. Lucius looked up at her eyes from below.

“The victory celebration…”

“Yes, the recent one.”

That day, fireworks had gone off across the nation. Brianna realized he was thinking the same thing.

“That day…”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. Her lips moved, but no sound came. She hesitated with her eyebrows furrowed. It felt wrong to bring it up now, while asking for a divorce.

But if not now, she might never be able to say it.

“That day, while watching the fireworks, I thought of you.”

Staring at the endless bursts of light in the black sky, she missed him. She wondered, were you thinking of me too, watching the same fireworks? Or had you already erased me from your heart?

Lucius answered her unspoken question.

“I watched the fireworks that day too. From the hill we used to go to together.”

Brianna’s eyes widened. She never imagined he would go to that place on his own to watch the fireworks.

“Why…”

To her trembling question, Lucius let out a deep sigh. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

“Who knows why, Brianna? Why would I drag myself to that hill where I went with the woman who left me? Why do you think?”

He rubbed his nose against her chin. Like a big beast acting playfully.

“Before you ask for a divorce again, think carefully. Is there really nothing left between us but a contract and physical desire?”

Brianna inhaled softly. Ever since finding Florian’s letter, his murky heart had started to take shape.

“Then I’ll try to be brave too,” he said with a faint smile.

Brianna reached out and cupped his cheeks with both hands. Like the day they first kissed, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Then, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she kissed him passionately.